All shooters, whether they are police officers, soldiers, Olympic shooters, sportswomen and sportsmen, hunters, plinkers, or weekend enthusiasts have one common goal: hitting their target accurately and consistently. Accuracy and consistency in shooting depend largely on the skill of the shooter and the construction of the firearm and projectile.
The accuracy of a firearm can be enhanced by the use of precisely made components, including precisely-made ammunition, firearm components and target acquisition devices. It is well known in shooting that using ammunition in which the propellant weight and type, bullet weight and dimensions, and cartridge dimensions are held within very strict limits, can improve accuracy in shooting.
At very long ranges, in excess of 500 yards, however, the skill of the shooter and the consistency of the ammunition is often not enough to insure that the shooter will hit the target. As range increases, other factors can affect the flight of the bullet and the point of impact down range.
Other factors, such as wind, Magnus effect (i.e., a lateral thrust exerted by wind on a rotating bullet whose axis is perpendicular to the wind direction), projectile design, projectile spin, Coriolis effect, and the idiosyncrasies of the weapon or projectile can change the projectile's path over long range. Such effects are generally referred to as “windage” effects. Therefore, for example, to hit a target at long range, it may be necessary to correct for windage by moving the barrel of the weapon slightly to the left or the right to compensate for windage effects. When shooting East and West the elevation will be effected. Shooting due East, the bullet impact will be high. Shooting due West, the bullet impact will be low. The elevation at extended range might change slightly up or down depending on the spin of the projectile in a right hand or left hand twist barrel. Thus, for example, in order to hit a target at long range, the shooter must see the target, accurately estimate the range to the target, estimate the effect of bullet drop and windage effects on the projectile, and use this information to properly position the barrel of the firearm prior to squeezing the trigger.
In addition, conventional telescopic target acquisition devices are not generally useful at long ranges in excess of 400-800 yards. At close ranges less than 100 yards conventional target acquisition devices generally fall short when extreme accuracy is desired. The cross-hairs of such target acquisition devices are typically located in the center of the field, with the vertical hair providing a central indicator for making a windage adjustment, and the horizontal hair providing a central indicator for making a bullet drop adjustment. Modifications to this basic system have not, thus far, enabled a skilled shooter firing at long ranges to acquire and hit a target quickly and reliably, regardless of the weapon used (assuming always that the firearm is capable of reaching a target at the desired long range).
Regardless of range, and even with the best equipments, shooters seek to improve accuracy. Improvement may involve becoming familiar with a particular shooting system (weapon, scope, software, other accessories, etc.) and/or with a particular environment (e.g., distance, weather conditions, lighting, elevation, etc.).
What are needed are improved systems and methods for enhancing the accuracy of a shooter and for allowing a shooter to maintain accuracy and precision and/or to continuously improve accuracy and precision. Ideally, the systems and methods are useful across a wide range of different shooting systems and environments.